Value of a good undergraduate science degree depends less on the BSc label and far more on how it shapes the student through its structure and skills it builds. Employers and PG programmes treat the degree as a baseline signal, focusing on what students can do: problem-solving, communication, digital capability and adaptability, rather than subject knowledge alone.

Put simply, a bachelor's degree that builds deep domain understanding and transferable skills across multiple areas is a strong asset. A pure mathematics or astronomy bachelor's degree, indeed a high-quality degree in any area of science, can land you a job that is more stimulating and as remunerative as the best engineering offers.

Good undergraduate science programmes, such as those in stronger public universities, IISERs (Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research) or well-run private universities, tangibly build analytical and quantitative ability, formal reasoning, and modelling. This is exactly what many analytics, consulting and tech-adjacent roles pay for.

In a tech-driven world, there is a high demand for those with strong training in the natural sciences and maths. While technologists construct for the present and near future, good scientists are trained to imagine far beyond what we know. So, whether you want a job right away or want to be a long-haul researcher, a quality science degree can be a first choice.

The challenge, however, is that this holds true only when the degree is of high quality. Opportunities for such quality science education are limited. Although India has the world's second-largest higher education system, with about 50,000 institutions, UG science education spans a wide range - from elite research institutes to comprehensive universities and standalone colleges. Enrolment in 'elite' institutions - IISERs, IISc, IITs, and top private universities and colleges - accounts for less than 0.5% of India's UG students. This highlights how selective and inaccessible these pathways remain.

Their disproportionate impact on research output, innovation and high-value employment makes them critical components of India's S&T ecosystem. But it also starkly points out that these successes come while leaving behind a huge part of our talent pool.

The problem before us is how to transform quantity into quantity + quality. There are two simultaneous tasks to address this problem:

Revitalise state universities
Education is a concurrent subject. Yet, many of the better-functioning science universities are central institutions, including IISERs, while several strong state universities have steadily declined. Although every state aspires to have an IISER, this alone cannot meet the demand for quality education at scale. Populous states must build multiple IISER-like institutions and revitalise colleges and state universities.

Build national mentoring network
These networks must be built around national labs, IISERs, central universities and select industry R&D units. There are many existing outreach programmes that provide a 'proof of principle'. When we have quality 'lighthouses' that attract and guide students near where they live and study, they will flock there if the value is self-evident.

These lighthouses must function with passion and interest. For today's students, the value will depend on specific, low-transaction-cost models rather than grand MoUs between institutions. Long-term mentorship cohorts, where each national laboratory or department takes about 50 UGs each year from proximal colleges for a structured programme, can be effective, with reading groups, basic methods workshops and small guided projects.

These should be demanding and challenge students, rather than requiring mere attendance. Entry can be only modestly rigorous to be inclusive. But study and interaction should be demanding, with exits for those who do not fit in. Short projects, taken up by individuals or teams, where students help with data cleaning, literature mapping, simple simulations or field data collection, under a young faculty member or postdoc mentor, can transform a young person's perspective.

This is much more scalable than full lab internships. Monthly 'scientist in residence' days, where scientists or industry researchers from nearby laboratories spend a day on a state university campus - such as one public lecture, one methods class, and one closed-room session with a small student group - can have an impact if conducted by high-quality visitors and managed at scale.

The return on effort can be high if we prioritise high-enrolment, low-resource colleges in populous states, where the marginal gain from even light-touch mentoring is highest. Widespread presence of national laboratories and institutions makes this viable.

While transformation of state universities and colleges will take decades and must be undertaken, a mentoring republic built on national labs, elite universities and industry could start shifting the lived quality of science education for today's undergraduates within a few academic cycles. This is a task that can succeed if philanthropy, states and institutions work together in a decentralised, organic manner.